Today’s interview is with Eric and Stacey Berglind, a married couple who blog at Tonight’s Better Together. Motivated by their desire to keep their own romance alive, they share creative ideas for date nights for “anyone that’s fed up with same old dinner and movies or corny, uninventive Pinterest [date night] lists.” They also give readers glimpses into their marriage and life as West Coasters who moved to the East Coast. In this interview, Eric and Stacey share some fun facts about themselves and the best advice they’ve ever received.

Fun fact about you:Eric: I’m a certified scuba diverStacey: I was Miss Borrego Springs, beauty pageant queen for a small town

Funner fact:Eric: I’ve broken nine bones thus far in my lifeStacey: I was nudged by a bull shark in thigh deep water in North Carolina and lived to tell the tale

Funnest fact:Eric: If it is furry I have to resist the urge to hug it (animals only)Stacey: I’m allergic to bees because I’ve been stung by scorpions too many times

What do you think has been essential to your success as a blogger?Both: Identifying the right form of social media and developing a consistent posting schedule has been crucial to our continued growth.

What was something that surprised you about blogging?The willingness of the blogging community to reach out to each other. We have built friendships with people from all walks of life through blogging.

If you had to describe your blog in 6 words or less, what would you say?Date ideas that don’t suck!

Who or what inspires you?Our own relationship inspires us to develop new content for our audience.

If you aren’t doing anything related to blogging, what are you doing in your free time?Both: Working full-time and trying to be outdoors as much as possible with our furry mutt.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?Life’s too short to sit around worrying about it.

Readers: Join me in thanking Eric and Stacey for sharing their time, stories, and advice with us! If you want to learn more about them, check out their blog Tonight’s Better Together, with all the links to the usual social media sites.

Want more interviews like this? Leave a comment and let me know who you would like to see featured. Be sure to sign up to stay updated on all the latest posts. Also, get on the Insiders list, a monthly email with a summary of blog posts, cool surprises and printables throughout the year, invites to insider-only online events, and chances to be featured in the blog.

This is a continuation of the 4 Steps to Accomplishing Your Goals series, a walk-through of the process I use to accomplish many things throughout the year. I’m also highlighting stories from people who’ve accomplished big goals in their life or business.

Today is Step 3: Break Barriers and Collect Small Success. We’ll talk about how to recognize and continue your current progress even if the excitement’s worn off (and even if it doesn’t seem like you’ve made any progress yet). I’m also including ideas for continuing to move toward your goal even when facing challenges. If you haven’t read them already, I recommend catching up on Step 1: Assess and Clarify and Step 2: Plan and Take Action before continuing on to this third step.

Keep reading to learn more about Step 3 and then come back next Tuesday (Jan 31) to read Step 4: Reflect and Celebrate.

The four steps each also have worksheets that help you walk through this process. If you want them, be sure to answer Yes!! on that section on the Insiders signup form (if you’re already signed up, you can update your profile by using the same email you used before).

I’ve often heard people say, “It’s the small things in life that…” Whether they’re talking about what really matters, or what makes you most happy, or something else, the message is the same: every moment counts.

More and more, I’m finding it’s true in my life too. Sometimes the “big” things aren’t as satisfying as when I live a week of “little” things – taking time to (literally) smell the roses (and other flowers) on a walk, enjoying a cup of tea while coloring, playing with a puppy, meeting with a friend to do something fun, or reading a good book. It makes me happy to make time for and appreciate the small ways that life is good.

However, it’s not always easy to do this. As someone who is this goal-oriented, I have a hard time focusing on what is going on now, rather than wishing, planning, or worrying about the future.

Even though I have several smaller list items, sometimes I get frustrated about not making bucket list progress, or get discouraged and antsy if it’s been a while since I’ve traveled somewhere (anyone else feel this way?).Making sure I focus on smaller, everyday things that make me happy is one way to help fight this feeling and reset my mind to celebrate any moment no matter how small.

I’m also aware that some of the bigger things wouldn’t get done if I didn’t do the little things. For example, I’m more confident speaking to people because I’ve practiced talking to random strangers in small conversations here and there, both as I travel and at home. This makes it easier to talk with anyone, about anything, whether asking someone for something for my bucket list or blog, making small talk with a celebrity, or hanging out with fellow travelers.

My summer (and this year in general) has been pretty exciting so far, but I know that the excitement from the big things will wear off. I want to push myself to recognize that every day doesn’t have to be a giant travel experience to have special moments of adventure. Actually, sometimes I feel like daily life lived intentionally, may have more opportunity for adventure than a vacation.

When I’m aware of and actively choosing what I’m doing and why, I notice more opportunities, I spend more time on things that matter to me, and I feel more satisfied than when I live by default, doing the same things I always do.

That’s why I’m starting this 31 Days of Everyday Adventure project, where I’ll challenge myself and the other participants to do small activities every day, meant to give us just a little push toward doing something different and appreciating all of life.

It’s about creating space for the daily moments that challenge us to go a little bit further than we’re comfortable with – because we can always return to our comfort zones if we don’t like it on the outside, but the consequences of never trying to leave are too high.